Recently, a Lawrence resident went through a market check-out line and encountered a clerk who clearly was ailing. She was sneezing and coughing and her face was crimson from a probable fever. Told that she needed to get home and “doctor” herself a bit, she responded: “I’ve used up all my sick leave, I have two children and I just have to work.”

In dealing with the public and handling merchandise, how many germs did the dedicated mother transfer to others? There needs to be a better way to deal with such situations.

Shift to a fast-food restaurant in Los Angeles, where a number of times a woman named Manuela Mendez has had to drag herself to work, coughing, feverish and congested. “I go to work no matter what because we need the money,” she said, in Spanish, to a reporter. “It’s difficult to work. I carry germs that may contaminate my work mates and that’s a problem for customers.”

Some people, such as Mendez, have no way to take a day of paid sick leave to recover from an illness or injury, see a doctor or care for a family member who is ailing.

There are groups, of which Manuela Mendez is one, who are working to get people at least five paid sick days a year. Says a California political leader, “People shouldn’t have to worry that if they get sick they will lose their jobs. Paid sick days are good for a healthy economy and a healthier society.”

At least the woman in the local scenario had some sick leave, and that is to the credit of local employers. But what happens when she gets sick again and has no further avenues to take for the benefit of her fellow employees, the store’s customers and society in general?

We need to set up systems where people who are sick can have time to get treatment and recuperate without fearing they will lose their jobs.